(Communicated by the President’s Spokesperson)
President Isaac Herzog welcomed a delegation of Imams and Muslim community leaders from Senegal, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, and Togo this morning (Monday, 1 December 2025) at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. The delegation, facilitated by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, came to Israel to promote a message of peace, coexistence, and partnership between Muslims and Jews, and between Africa and Israel.
The President underscored the significance of the delegation’s visit in strengthening dialogue between Jewish and Muslim leaders. He also stressed the importance of the delegation witnessing the reality on the ground in Israel, which stands in stark contrast to the lies and misinformation that circulate around the world.
President Herzog reiterated Israel’s dedication to strengthening its relationships with nations across Africa. The President cited his historic visit to Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo last month as an example of this growing partnership.
The delegation of Muslim leaders expressed their deep friendship with israel and the Jewish people. They described their deep emotion upon visiting sites of religious importance to Muslims in the Holy Land, and their commitment to sharing their experience with their communities upon returning home.
President Herzog: “We are very honored to have you here. I think it’s a big message from the Muslim communities of Africa. We believe in Africa, and we believe in strengthening ties with Africa. We were always there. Finally, there’s a dialogue with the leadership of the Muslim communities of Africa, whom we greatly respect, and we are happy that you’re here, despite these challenging times, to bring a message of peace and dialogue between Jew and Muslim.
“I believe the future of this region is only through dialogue between Jew and Muslim, and the Abraham Accords have shown it. And so I hope you have a wonderful emotional, spiritual, and also practical experience by seeing the country.
“The UN Security Council Resolution that was passed ten days ago is historic, and I give the full credit to President Donald Trump and his team. They have gathered the support of moderate Muslim countries, who are fed up with the extreme empire of evil which operates from Tehran, and they want to change the situation towards peace. He managed to release our hostages, the living hostages. We have two more dead hostages. We want to bring them back. And he’s moving towards the next stage, which means taking Hamas out and bringing new management for the lives of millions of Palestinians in Gaza, and afterwards, move towards a grand peace with the nations in the region based on the Abraham Accords, and add more nations to the Abraham Accords that recognize Israel and will make peace with Israel. That’s what we want most. Jerusalem is the city of peace. We want a message of peace to the world.
“This is the message to this delegation. This delegation can bring a huge change, because we live in an era where there is brainwashing of hate all the time, and you are seeing the real truth of this nation. We are here, the people of Israel, to do good in the world, including in Africa, and I believe that Africa should be a bridge of peace in our region.”
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